"Right! Fuck, go right!" The man in the passenger seat leaned out the window and scanned behind them. His shaggy blond hair waved in the wind, and his stocky frame hugged the B pillar. Blood ran down his forehead, staining his tanned skin.
Shots rang out and the rear windshield shattered, showering the driver and passenger in the glass. The tires of the car squealed in protest as O'Della hooked the vehicle around a corner too tight. Nearly hitting two people and a pole in the process.
O'Della grits his teeth, trying to regain control. "Shit, get outta the way!" The car swerved back and forth on the road. His rear tire clipped the curb, causing them both to bounce as more bullets impacted the car. "What the fuck did you do, Sammy! This was supposed to go smooth, no complications, remember?!" He glanced over, Sammy's green eyes narrowed, and he let out a few shots of his own from his pistol.
"Our 'contact' must have ratted us out! You saw it, soon as I zeroed the guy, their entire security force was on us!" One of the six black SUVs behind them crashed into a building as he shot its tire out. "If I get my hands on that fuckin' Kabuki mask bitch I'm gonna kill her!" He leaned back into the car as it careened onto the highway, the chassis groaned in protest as the engine sputtered a little.
"If you say so, but this ride won't last much longer, we gotta lose these guys." More bullets riddled the back of the car and whizzed by their heads. He surveyed the bridge they were on, it was over a hundred feet above the water, and the guardrail looked sturdy. Passenger cars flew past as he contemplated his options. The engine sputtered again and almost died. "Shit... Hold on!" The car pulled to the right hard.
Weightlessness enveloped both of them as Sammy yelled obscenities-then darkness and pain.
# Fourteen hours earlier #
"The job is a simple one," said the lanky man in a Kabuki mask, his voice was velvety and charming, "You are to publicly execute this target." The screen burned brightly in the darkness of the small room, on it was a picture of a ratty-looking man. His eyes were dark green, dark hair long and shaggy, his beard unkempt and his clothes dirtier than the slums around him in the photo.
The red eyes of the Kabuki mask seemed to burn holes through them. It was classically designed as a devil's face, colored in red and white, it gave off a menacing vibe. O'Della wondered to himself why Denny let this guy in with a mask like that on. Normally his bouncer would have told him to take it off while on the premises.
"The fuck'd he do to you?" Sammy sat next to him, the distrust on his face was evident.
Kabuki Mask leaned closely to Sammy. "I don't pay your kind to ask questions. I pay you to do what I ask," He straightened and smoothed his platinum-trimmed black suit, "Do you want the job or not?"
Sammy looked to O'Della. "Whaddya think, should we give this corpo rat the time of day?" His hand slowly moved to his pistol. "Or do I need to show him what 'our kind' is capable of?" As he said this the giant man in the doorway shifted to a wider stance.
The merc leaned back scratching his chin with his left hand. His eyes lazily drifted across the screen, he was bored and this could be fun. O'Della waved his robotic right hand, making clicking and whirring noises, dismissively towards Sammy. "Chill, let's talk money, I don't do this shit for kicks you know."
The corp snapped his fingers and the burly man, who was twice Sammy's size and also wearing a Kabuki mask, threw a suitcase on the wooden table in front of them, knocking O'Della's feet off it. "I believe this will be more than enough." He opened the suitcase, inside was at least twenty thousand dollars. A scowl grew across Sammy's face at the paltry sum.
O'Della just laughed and shook his head. "Standard fee is only for regular jobs. Mugging, robbery, arson that kinda shit. You want me to publicly execute this guy?" He pushed the suitcase back. "I need you to do better than that if I'm asking no questions. Besides I may need to acquire some equipment too."
An annoyed sigh escaped from under the devil-shaped mask. "I'll double the payment upon completion, I will also provide suitable transport and an informant."
He swiped the screen and a new picture came up. It was a run-down bar in the middle of the slums, the red neon sign atop the building read: 'Noki Noki Bar'. "You'll meet the contact here and fetch the vehicle from out back. I'm sure you'll find it more than accommodating."
"Shinto District... that's Noki Gang territory," Sammy turned to O'Della again, "You think that's a good idea?"
Kabuki Mask faced them, his annoyance seeming to grow further. "The target is not in Shinto District and is not affiliated with Noki. Your contact is. Simple."
O'Della contemplated the details and nodded. "We'll take the job. Our contact will show us the rest of the payment, and it'll be put in a secure drop-off with the bartender. I know them personally, Noki's good people." His mind wandered back to his time in the Noki gang. Fond memories for sure, scrambling in shit and getting paid dimes on the dollar.
Kabuki Mask pushed the suitcase back. "Good, these terms are agreeable. Go to the bar and ask for Symphony, the rest of the information will be imparted at that time." He swiftly turned around and left with his muscle. The two mercs sat in silence for a little bit and pondered the job.
O'Della stood and stretched, the mechanical joints in his military-grade cybernetic arm and legs creaking, breaking the silence. He moved to the screen and swiped it back to the target. Looked a lot like his buddies in the Marines, lost and confused with no way home.
"Whatcha thinkin' Sammy?"
"I think this sounds like a shit sandwich," He sighed wearily before continuing, "but you know best. You got me through the shit back then, you'll do the same now." He stood and put his hand on O'Della's shoulder as they both stared at the man they were going to murder.
Murder. The word had lost most of it's meaning, not only to the two men but to society as a whole. Homicide rates had skyrocketed in the Free States after the second Civil War to levels unprecedented. In this city alone over 1,200 people per 100,000 residents were murdered a year on average.
O'Della cocked his head. "Think he's hiding something?"
"You don't? Since when did you start gettin' soft?"
"Nah, he is, just don't know what."
"My bet? He's got us killing the competition and sending a message." He pats O'Della's shoulder and then walks out towards the bar in the other room.
O'Della stood for a moment longer and mulled things over. He sighed and turned the screen off, his dark visage looked back at him in the dull blackness. He stared into his dark brown eyes, and ran his mechanical fingers through his short, curly brown hair. His complexion was light brown and small freckles adorned his nose. A look of contemplation ruffled his brows. "The fuck did I get myself into, the only job for months and it's this shit." He grabbed the suitcase from the table and left the soundproof meeting booth.
He entered the main room of The Concave, a 'classy' joint where fixers meet with mercs to settle jobs. It was loud right now as several mercs danced around, while they yelled and waved drinks about.
Green and purple light shone up through the glass dance floor, illuminating the satin-black walls and loud Phonk music blared over the speakers. O'Della walked through the booth section on the right of the joint towards the bar. The dance floor on his left was covered in alcohol and human fluid alike, it was a wonder anyone could dance on it.
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As he passed the final booth, he set the briefcase down on the ground and sat next to Sammy, he looked out towards the foyer that is adjacent to the entrance on the left side of the club. It was lined with clear pillars containing bubbling neon green fluid. A black carpet with the club's logo was laid out between the pillars in front of the entrance, above the double doors was a camera that took a picture of every person that walked in and out. It flashed brightly and made a click as Kabuki Mask and his muscle left in a hurry.
The barkeep was an older black man. Still looking good for his age, his arms were big and burly, and he had long curly black hair with greying ends. His blue eyes shone with intelligence and ferocity.
O'Della turned around motioning to the barkeep, Sammy already had a glass of vodka on the rocks in front of him. As the barkeep approached with a warm smile, O'Della pointed to the glass and held up two fingers. "The usual, Denny."
Two glasses slid towards O'Della, the ice making a clinking noise. "Anything for my favorite customer with the largest tab." Denny's deep voice rang out.
He tossed back a drink like it was the first thing he had all day. "I'll pay up after this gig. Got some good money coming my way."
Denny gave him a sly look. "Looks like you got yourself a real job, for once, what'd he want?"
"Just some rat with too much money and not enough problems." O'Della knocked the second drink back.
Sammy shot O'Della a look full of daggers. "More like a big fuckin' problem for us, but work is work." He finished his drink and knocked his knuckles on the bar for another.
"Well don't go getting yourselves killed, you crazy kids," Denny laughed as he slid Sammy another, "You still owe me a few hundred bucks."
O'Della stood as Sammy gulped the second drink.
"Don't go worrying 'bout us," Sammy winked and stood up as well.
O'Della picked up the case and slid it across the bar to Denny. "Mind looking after this for me? I'll come pick it up in a few days."
Denny looks at the case suspiciously, then shrugged and put it under the counter. "Sure kid, it's safe with me. But if this is what I think it is, I'm clearing your tab and takin' my cut."
O'Della chuckled. "Sharp as ever, I'll see you in a few days."
Without another word, both of them walked out of the club. The camera above the door flashed and clicked as they exited into the alleyway, passing a small man guarding the door. Despite his stature the man was nearly fully robotic, and not someone to fuck with. He nodded to both of them and they nodded back.
The smell of sewage and smog filled their noses as they exited. The Concave was situated in a long alley in Naomi District right off the waterfront, however, despite being waterfront property everything here was middle class.
The narrow alley provided little escape for would-be troublemakers in the club. Both sides of it were tall residential buildings and it exited onto busy streets at either end, neon advertisements and graffiti lined the walls.
O'Della and Sammy walked along the alley and out towards the water, their footsteps echoed loudly against the concrete walls. As they reached the end, Sammy jogged ahead and flagged a cab for them. They both got in the back and settled in for the two-hour ride to the Shinto district.
The chipper robotic driver turned to face them. It looked like a simple human torso made of a metal framework attached to the seat, with a silicone face on its head. O'Della always found them very off-putting. "Thank you for choosing Auto-Express! Where is your dropoff location today?"
O'Della punched in the location of the Noki Noki bar on the screen embedded in the seat in front of him. After that, a fingerpad with 'ND Payment' written on it popped out of the seat. "Shit, I don't have cred on my Neural Deck account. You got this one?"
Sammy just sighed and put his finger on the pad, a blue light moved up and down scanning his print, and the robot made a chime noise. "Thank you for your business! We will arrive at -Noki Noki Bar- in two hours!" Its voice shifted to a different tone when it said the bar's name. After that, the cabbie pulled off a little quicker than necessary and drove swiftly through the traffic towards Shinto District.
# Two hours later #
Both men stepped out of the car, and stretched as they did. It was already getting dark and the neon signs shone brightly around them. They stood in front of the Noki Noki bar, it looked worse than O'Della remembered.
The old brick building reminded him of something from an old 2020 flick. The brick looked faded and the wood supports for the roof were buckling. He looked up at the neon sign above the entrance, it flickered in and out slowly. Several layers of paint could be seen on the brick, all of them were stripping off.
At least it didn't smell as bad here, even though it was the slums. He scanned the entrance, several Asian men, wearing classic Noki blue, were idling about. Some were drinking, others maintaining their iron. Good old Noki territory, not a care in the world when enforcers won't even step foot in your district.
As they approached the bar the cabbie peeled off behind them. O'Della took the lead and Sammy fell in line behind him. They climbed the creaky stairs to the front entrance and one of the larger Asian men stepped in front of them, placing a hand on O'Della's chest. "Just where do you think you're going O'Della? Not even gonna say hello, gesuyarou?"
In a flash, O'Della grabbed his hand, and flexed his cybernetic arm. A sickening crack came from the hand as he squeezed it and the man screamed in agony. Sammy winced knowing that arm can crush three-inch thick steel with ease. "Touch me again, Kira, and you won't live to regret it."
Without a moments notice O'Della and Sammy had seven guns pointed straight at their heads. Sammy jumped back, and put his hand on his pistol grip. O'Della just put his hands up, laughing as Kira fell on the ground, gripping his hand and moaning in pain. "Chill guys, I'm here to see Noki, is he around?"
The front door swung open, hit Kira on the head and knocked him out, a short Asian man that looked like he was a hundred years old stepped out. "What the fuck is going on here?!" He looked around furiously. His eyes finally came to rest on O'Della and he smiled widely. "O'Della! Welcome, welcome!"
O'Della kept his hands up and Sammy relaxed a little. "What's up Noki, Mind telling these fellas to put their pieces away?" O'Della casually nodded to the thugs.
Noki looked at him impishly after having inspected Kira. "Gonna break any more hands?" With a wave of his arm, two of the thugs picked up Kira and pulled him around the back of the bar. The rest of the thugs just went back to their business. Noki motioned for them to follow as he re-entered the bar.
They walked through the interior. This place was nowhere near as fancy as The Concave, simple paintings lined the walls and there were a few plants here and there. The bar consisted of the front room and the kitchen. The front room was just a large area with a bar, piano, and tables for guests. There were only Noki thugs at the tables, unsurprisingly, O'Della wondered which one would be their contact.
Noki rounded the bar and poured them both a drink. "So, what brings you back 'Mad' Madison O'Della, finally getting tired of the merc life?" Noki's thick Asian accent twisted the words as he pushed the glasses of vodka towards them.
"Nah, here looking for a contact, name's Symphony." O'Della threw the drink back. Sammy stayed close to him and watched their six but didn't approach the bar.
Noki's eyes narrowed at them. "You got yourself in some... interesting... biz this time." He lifted his crooked finger and pointed toward a woman at the corner table, wearing a Kabuki mask, who hadn't been there before.
O'Della sighed, exasperated. "I shoulda known." He looked back at Noki and nodded in thanks before starting to walk away. Sammy followed leaving his drink untouched. O'Della paused, looked at him, and shook his head. "Drink, Sammy. It's rude not to, trust me."
Noki watches Sammy closely as he drank. He smiled, after the glass was set back down empty, and waved them off. The two of them approached the woman and sat at the table behind her, and O'Della cleared his throat. "Let's talk about this gig, Symphony."
Sammy spoke up for the first time since they stepped out of the cab. "I hope you have the rest of the cash, I'm not doing a damn thing till I see it."
O'Della's eye twitched in annoyance. 'There it is. Sammy always did jump the gun.' He thought to himself. The woman stood and rounded the table, a briefcase, identical to the one O'Della had dropped off with Denny, slammed down onto their table.
"Check it, then give it to Noki." She had a pleasant voice that sounded like silk. O'Della opened the case, it looked good. He shifted it so Sammy could see before closing it, then nods towards Noki and Sammy takes the case over to him.
After he received the case, Noki punched a code into the keypad on the wall behind him. A trapdoor opened in the floor behind the bar and he descended into it with the case. Sammy sat back at the table and nods to O'Della to continue.
"As I was saying, let's talk details," O'Della took out his cigarette case, and put one in his mouth. "Need any info you have on the mark, I also need to know where the job is supposed to be completed. Since being in public was part of the request, I'm assuming you had a place in mind to convey your message effectively."
The woman sat back down and laced her fingers together, a metallic tap came from each as they interlocked, and began to talk. "Yes, you're correct. We do have a certain place in mind..."